Treat
by Umuulan
Summary: One of Ichimatsu's innocent kitten friends was in need of a treat. A medical one. Though Karamatsu trust that his twin could provide it alone, what kind of brother wouldn't pity and help along?


_Crossposted on AO3 under the same username._

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 **EDIT (20 Novermber 2018):** I just realized I got their house's layout wrong (no tub, only toilet). Things would have happened completely different if I adjust it, so I'm just gonna leave this here as is? Maybe one day I'll edit this for real.

Requested by _TenebrisScriptoris_

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Karamatsu just exited the bathroom when he heard something he considered a sign of an emergency: A chant of curses sounding through the hallway. It wasn't shouting, but it had a hint of fear in it. Karamatsu was about to rush to the scene when he saw a familiar face rushing towards him, which was the source.

"Ichimatsu," Karamatsu said as soon as he saw his little brother. "What's going on?"

Ichimatsu ignored him as he hurriedly entered the bathroom. Karamatsu followed suit to see the situation. He gasped when he saw the reason why he should fuss too.

A calico was resting on Ichimatsu's arm, and one of her forearms was injured. It had a gash on it as if it's about to bleed again. The younger twin was fumbling around the mirror medicine cabinet as he tried to search for what he thought would be needed.

"Here," Karamatsu offered. "I'll find it for you. You go wash it first."

Ichimatsu quickly complied after he voiced a quick "thank you" and went straight to the tub as the older twin searched through the cabinet. After several seconds, Karamatsu found a wrapping bandage and a small scissors, closed the cabinet door, and carefully knelt down besides his brother who was washing the injured arm of his little friend.

Ichimatsu still held the helpless creature as Karamatsu gently wrapped the cut with the bandage. They were both in silence with slightly rushed heartbeats; neither spoke a word as the two treated the animal with care.

When Karamatsu finished his task, Ichimatsu gently brought the animal closer to his chest. They both noticed it was sleeping soundly. Its looks as if it wasn't hurt at all than it should have been; at least that's what its two companions thought of. The tension slowly died down as they watched their little friend rest.

After a moment of silence, the younger started to slightly shudder. Karamatsu looked up. "I-I don't know why she's like this. I only saw her like this on the alleyway where she usually hang out. M-maybe it got to a fight with another cat?" The younger brother swallowed. He blinked his eyes; it glinted a little. "Sh-She's too young to defend herself..."

Not wanting to bring back Ichimatsu's sadness and fear, Karamatsu ruffled his little brother's hair and reassured, "She's fine, Ichimatsu. I'm sure she'll recover soon."

The purple-clad twin quickly rubbed off his eyes. Karamatsu gave off a quiet chuckle. "Maybe we can bring her to the vet. I'll lend you my money if you need it. But if that's not enough, maybe we can borrow from our brothers or 'ka-san and 'to-san. I'm sure they'd lend us if we have a good reason like this."

Ichimatsu finally met his older brother's eyes. He was frowning slightly. "That's what I was thinking, stupid," He stood up from the tile floor, still holding the critter, and began to exit. "And I'm taking her now."

Karamatsu stood up too, and then held Ichimatsu on the shoulder. "Hold on," he said. "Don't you think she would need some rest first?"

A short pause. Ichimatsu groaned, shrugged the hand off, and continued his steps.

The blue-clad brother took it as a rejection. This was how Ichimatsu treats him these days (and for quite a long time); he had to remind himself that, even though he didn't want to.

"What are you waiting for?" Karamatsu almost jumped at the voice. He didn't realize his brother was staring at him from the door. "Come on, you idiot."

"A-ah, right!" Karamatsu did as he was told. His dear brother sure was hard to read; maybe they'd go straight to the vet now? Perhaps not, Ichimatsu was leading him to their empty room.

When they entered, Ichimatsu went straight to the green sofa and laid the creature down on top of a pillow marked with cat scratches on the edge of the sofa. Karamatsu almost forgot to sit down next to his brother on the other edge of the sofa; he was too thankful inside that Ichimatsu had actually considered his suggestion.

Ichimatsu then slumped his head on the sofa and breathed out an exhausted sigh. He took deep breathes as if he was trying to hold back his tears, but soon it steadied into a normal pace again.

Karamatsu then slowly sat besides his brother and stared at the both of them. He didn't realize he sat there longer than he intended, because he fell asleep.


End file.
